The Trick to Trigonometry
by nawsies
Summary: "hi sorry I live below you and I hear your dog running around and barking all the time and– no no it's fine I was just hoping maybe I could pet it?" Au - Freed is struggling with his assignment and goes upstairs to introduce himself to his neighbour, and plead with him to let him pet his dog. Fraxus It started as this and has somehow become a multichap slow burn road trip AU
1. Chapter 1: Trigonometry

**hi sorry I live below you and I hear your dog running around and barking all the time and– no no it's fine I was just hoping maybe I could pet it? Au**

Freed sighed and shoved his textbook away from him, if he had to look at one more equation he was going to run someone through with the ornate sword that hung over his mantelpiece. Midday on a Saturday the last thing he wanted to be doing was maths. His Masters project was larger than he'd anticipated and he knew he could crack this puzzle if he just found the right link, he was just missing something. If he'd been at home he would've gone in search of his cat, Montaigne, but his parents were too fond of the animal and wouldn't let him take him when he moved out. He still visited most semester breaks, his cooking skills were lacking and he needed a good meal, and while doing his postgrad he could go home pretty much whenever he wanted but, he liked the freedom of his apartment. But he really needed an animal to pat so he could calm down his thoughts and work out what part of this puzzle he was missing.

"That's it!" He gasped to himself. He dashed to his bedroom and pulled on his favourite bright red hoodie before racing out of his apartment and upstairs. He had spoken to a couple of his neighbours, the pierced mechanic with the constant bitch face and an intimidating red-haired woman who had interrogated him when he first moved in, so it was going to be a bit strange knocking on this person's door. Unless of course it turned out to be one of those two, but he didn't think either of them really seemed like dog people.

Once he reached the apartment directly above his own he gave the door three quick knocks and then composed himself while he waited, he redid the knot in his hair held up by one of his many pencils and worked at steadying his breath after the swift sprint.

"What?" The man who opened the door peered down at him and Freed felt a little out of his depth with the situation. He was a giant. He stood a head taller than Freed and seemed to be constructed out of solid muscle, since he was without a shirt there was no hiding the incredible definition of his torso and the intricate tattoo that curved over his bicep and chest only served to enhance the whole treat before him. Freed drew his eyes away from the man's abs and made himself stare at his face, which was also far too well-proportioned to be at all fair to the rest of humankind.

"Hi, sorry, I live below you and I hear your dog running around and barking all the time…"

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that. I walk him three times a day but he's still really energetic." The man cut him off before he managed to speak and Freed had to pause for a moment to find his courage all over again to speak to this god of a man.

"No, no it's not like that at all, I'm not bothered at all by the noise I just, I was hoping that I could pet it?" Freed asked.

"You, want to pet my dog?" One of his eyebrows quirked up ever so slightly and it started to dawn on Freed just how strange this request was.

"It's just been a long day and I'm working on this paper and I need to solve an equation, well I need to work out which equation I should even be solving at the moment and I think best when I'm cuddling and it would mean a lot to me if I could pet your dog." Freed knew he was borderline rambling but he wanted the guy to understand he wasn't crazy. Although perhaps saying he thought best while cuddling wasn't the best way to go about that.

"Yeah, OK, um come right on in?" He stepped aside and swung the door open further.

Freed noted their apartments had the same layout, simple kitchen to the left of the entrance, an open plan dining room and lounge and then off to the right the bathroom and bedroom doors and even the same strange fake fireplace. However, Freed's was a lot more cluttered with books stacked haphazardly around the lounge and all sorts of papers, posters and paintings all over his walls. This guy's flat was minimalistic. All he had in his lounge was a simple black rug, two leather couches, a massive TV and of course a black doggie bed with a very content Golden Retriever wagging his tail furiously as he gnawed on a rope toy.

"I'm Laxus by the way and this is Thor, just, make yourself at home, I guess?" Laxus said, he scratched the back of his head for a moment and then looked over at Freed again. "Do you want tea or coffee?"

"A coffee would be great! And I'm Freed and I am just going to go, pat your dog now." Freed raced over to Thor and dropped cross-legged beside him. He reached out both hands and started ruffling the fur around Thor's ears quickly and cooing about 'who's a good boy'. Thor seemed to like it.

It was nice to be able to pet him without all the preamble Montaigne required. Freed swore there was a whole courtship ritual anytime he wanted to give him a scratch behind the ears. Montaigne had to sniff his hand, contemplate his worth, sniff again, decide how much he really wanted a scratch, sniff him again and then he'd either concede to be petted by a lowly human or he would choose to wander off in search of adventure and food. Dogs were much simpler. He had yet to meet a dog who didn't get overly happy and excited at the first sign of human contact and of course the question, 'who's a good boy'.

"How do you like your coffee?" Laxus asked.

"Milk, two sugars please." Freed called back, shuffling closer to Thor and lifting his head onto his lap. He reached round with his other hand and started scratching his tummy too, because you must never neglect the tummy.

"He's taken quite a liking to you." Laxus said, placing the coffee on the ground beside Freed and settling himself into the corner of the couch nearest them so he peered down on the duo.

"I have taken quite a liking to him, you're going to struggle to get me out of your apartment now." Freed said.

"Trust me, he's not so cute when he farts." Laxus groaned. Freed laughed as he peered up at him. Laxus' expression had barely changed in the time he'd been there, slight shock when he opened the door and now a slight squish to his nose. Freed envied his composure, he knew his own expressions made him an open book. Half the time he felt like he had no control whatsoever over his own face, it just reacted as it pleased.

Freed turned back to Thor and leant his forehead down to rub it again the dog's head. "I'm sure it's not that bad. You wouldn't stink out the whole apartment would you Thor? You're far too civilised for that."

When he sat back up he decided civilised was possibly not the best word for the dog whose tongue was lolling out and was making a noise that might have been an attempt at a purr but also could just be his stomach growling.

"I'm surprised you don't have pets?" Laxus said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the two while they sipped at coffee and Freed absent-mindedly scratched Thor, off in his own head about conversation topics and physics.

"I have a cat, Montaigne, but he's not nearly so friendly. He's quite disloyal actually, he chose my parents over me and he knocks over all my plants." Freed shrugged.

"He knocks over your plant pots?"

"I swear he does it on purpose, doesn't even have the decency to be sneaky about it. He'll sit and wait until I walk into the room and then the second I'm in sight he just nudges them off the table." Freed clenched his fist over his heart and lifted his gaze to the ceiling. "I may not have a cat now, but I have a whole family of ferns safe from his wicked clutches."

"The only plant I've ever had was a cactus and I managed to kill it. It turns out you do need to water them on occasion." Laxus chuckled as he watched the strange, dramatic, vibrant man who was sitting on his floor. Who was, at that moment, clutching his side with one arm and _still_ petting Thor with the other, laughing hysterically.

"You killed a cactus!" Freed wheezed. "I didn't think that was even _possible_. You, I can't believe it. Should I be worried about Thor being left in your questionable care?"

"Dogs are much easier, they actually remind you they need looking after. Plants just, sit there." Laxus grumbled.

"OK, OK, I see Thor is in perfectly good hands." Freed wiped the tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. "I promise not to bring your dog-owning ability into question again. Your coffee making skills however…"

"I let you into my home, let you pat my dog, and this is how you repay me, cold Freed. Cold. I thought you were better than that."

"Excuse you, I am a fabulous human being. Just not when deadlines are coming up." Freed shuddered at the thought of the impending meeting with his lecturer, it was not going to be a fun event.

"So, what do you study exactly anyway?" Laxus asked.

From there the two fell into an easy banter. Freed learned that Laxus was an electrician, although his grandfather wanted him to become a lawyer and join the family business, Laxus said he couldn't handle the paperwork though. He heard about Laxus' overwhelmingly large family, most of whom were family friends but it was still daunting. There were countless stories told about them. He learned that you could never leave food at Thor's height or it would be gone in three seconds flat.

Freed told him about the time he and his best friend, Bickslow, decided that supermarket trolley jousting was the best idea they'd ever had, it wasn't. It wasn't as bad as the time they decided to get matching nipple piercings though. Laxus laughed so hard about that he was actually slapping the arm of the couch.

The sun was setting, Freed's stomach hurt from laughing and Thor was no longer lying peacefully between them and was instead scratching at the front door holding his leash in his mouth. They had ignored him for a little while but he was starting to whine now and it was unbearable to listen to.

"I should let you go," Freed stood up, his knees cracking as he lifted himself up.

"Do you, maybe, want to walk him with me?" Laxus asked. "Sorry, that was stupid you have your thing and…"

"I'd love to." Freed spoke before he let himself think about everything else he should be doing. It seemed much more important that he was going to go on a walk with this lovely, friendly, kind, gentle dog and his good enough owner.


	2. Chapter 2:A Dumbass Drunk (and No Dogs)

**I didn't mean to continue with this AU but this prompt came up (btw, this is from a prompt not my own genius) and I couldn't stop thinking about it. And then a few more prompts came up and now, this has turned into a slow-burn multichapter Fraxus fluff fest. Is anyone as excited about that as I am?  
**

* * *

It all started when Freed sat down with his book, a cup of tea and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have no assignments due for at least a week and a half. There was lingering contentment as well from his latest cuddle session with Thor. Apparently Thor had a tendency to get anxious when left alone for extended periods of time so Laxus dropped him off that morning while he went to campus. Freed was more than happy to offer his flat as a safe haven of comfort and food whenever he could. Life was good, the world was in balance. And then his phone rang.

Freed stared at the lit up screen for a while, cursing whoever thought that now was the best time to call him. It was probably his parents or…

"Oh bollocks," Freed muttered, he leaned across the couch and flicked the screen to take the call.

"What is it?"

"Freedy-boy! Freed-meister! Free-Willy except you told me not to call you that anymore, I'm sorry man I know, I know, only one time. Your name is hard to make nicknames out of you know that? And I could use Justine but, it's a girl's name. And you've got the hair but you've also got that, hhaha, free Willy, sorry man. Chief? Nah I already know a chief, you should meet Chief, he's a doll. Hahaha, doll." Bixlow trailed off into mad cackling.

"Where are you?" Freed sighed, already getting up and tossing his coat over his arm. He hunted through the pile of stuff on the kitchen counter for his keys. This was not the first I'm-too-drunk-to-drive-so-now-you're-my-best-friend call he'd got from Bixlow and it certainly wouldn't be the last. From day one Bixlow took to the drunk side of college life like a fish to water. At least he tended to feel guilty about it the next day and would make an early morning coffee run, he had Freed's order down pat.

"I'm at Chief's!" Bixlow yelled happily then after a patch of static Freed heard him yelling 'My main man Freedy-Boy is coming!' to his party posse.

"Bixlow, I'm going to need an address." Freed sighed. Bixlow was hardly the most helpful and mature person sober, drunk Bixlow was impossible.

"Just follow the sound of my voice," Bixlow laughed to himself, "nah man, nah nah I got you, OK so I'm at 3/62 Straven Rd."

"I'll be there in 10." Freed hung up the call, he was going to get enough of Bixlow's rambling on the drive home he didn't need to listen to it as he drove there. He pressed the ground floor button in the elevator and took the time to slip into his coat and pull his hair back into a ponytail. His just-out-of-the-shower hair was a poofy mess that no one needed to be aware of. A part of him was definitely annoyed, he was set for a night in and instead he had to deal with all _this._ The other part of him though had long since accepted it was part of being friends with Bixlow and he cared about that more than his nights in. He could still be pissed though, he had to leave Master-chef for this.

After a couple of wrong turns and a poorly executed U-turn, Freed arrived. He was about to knock on the front door when two things happened, first of all he realised it was a raging house party and who the hell knocks when they arrive and secondly, someone yanked the door open, grinned at him and then stumbled down the front steps and off down the street.

"Should I be worried about him?" Freed asked one of the guys leaning by the doorway.

"He'll be fine," he shrugged. Freed mimicked the action, trying to ooze nonchalance when in reality this was so far out of his comfort zone. No matter how many times he picked Bixlow up from these things he still felt like someone was going to see him, see how out of place he was and kick him out. He stifled the anxiety and pushed through the crowd, hunting out Bixlow's familiar blue Mohawk.

Whoever this Chief was, he went all out for the occasion. Freed had seen his fair share of house parties, because of Bixlow rather than his own desire to go out and 'get rekt', but this was one of the most elaborate. There were enough speakers to shake the entire frame of the house, as loud as any night club with strobe lights and a smoke machine to complete the effect. Freed paused for a moment, awkwardly bobbing in the sweaty crowd waiting out the latest round of strobe lights. He found it disorientating enough trying to weave through the crowd, he had no chance of spotting Bixlow in the frozen frames of vision.

When the strobes stopped he was off, getting shoved around by an elbow here, someone's hip there, a girl crashing right up against him and giggling apologies. Freed brushed himself down as best he could, stepped in something unmentionable and finally, _finally_ , saw a familiar flash of blue in the next room. Freed adjusted course, silently thanking the architect for open planning living/dining areas because he had been heading in the completely wrong direction. His sense of purpose seemed to speak volumes to those around him and they parted just enough for him to slip though before they crashed together again behind them. He was like Moses parting the Red Sea except, he was pretty sure Moses didn't have green hair and although there was an alarming amount of sweat in the room it wasn't quite an ocean amount.

He was nearly there, Bixlow was in sight, it was just a few steps more when suddenly a beast stepped out from the crowd and Freed walked right into him, falling to the ground with an inelegant grunt.

"Shit, sorry dude," the beast turned around and knelt to give him his hand. Freed took the hand gladly as he shook his head and blinked a few times trying to get his bearings back. More than anything he wanted to get out of the crowd of people and becoming a part of the dance floor beneath them didn't fit in with his plan.

"Nah it was my…Laxus?" Freed suddenly recognised the beast.

"Freed?" Laxus said, letting his hand drop. "What are you doing here? Sorry to sound so, surprised just doesn't seem like your scene."

Freed leaned closer to make out what Laxus was saying, with a combination of lip reading, fragments of the sentence and process of elimination he figured he pretty much had it.

"It's not, I'm the sober driver. My friend is smashed," Freed punctuated his explanation with enough hand gestures to make it look like a strange version of charades. Since he could work out what Laxus was saying he should probably assume Laxus could do the same but, he was gesturing before he really thought it through and once he started he just couldn't stop. Newton's first law of motion and all that.

"Same here," Laxus yelled. "Dickhead called me 10 minutes ago."

"Need a hand finding him?" Freed asked.

"I think he's pretty easy to spot." Laxus jerked his thumb over his shoulder and Freed looked past him and groaned at the sight before him.

Freed didn't know where this friend of Laxus' was but, he was currently watching Bixlow waving his shirt in the air, standing atop one of the speakers and he seemed to be yelling something but Freed couldn't make it out over the thud of the bass and the roar of the crowd.

"You've got to be kidding me," Freed yelled. Laxus looked at him puzzled but Freed had his eyes closed tight, taking deep soothing breaths and hoping he'd open his eyes and Bixlow was fully clothed and not highly likely to throw up in his car on the way home. He had done this too many times, he recognised the signs.

Laxus was startled by the intensity in Freed's eyes when he finally looked back at the scene. To his amusement, Freed rolled up the sleeves on his coat and rolled out his shoulders, looking more ready for a brawl than picking up a friend.

"Sorry," Freed apologised, "I'll be back!"

Grateful that he was close enough to prevent disaster, Freed was upon him in a three strides with dancers jumping out of the way as he stormed past them.

"Bixlow!" Freed yelled, reaching up and slapping Bixlow's calf. When he had his attention he pointed at Bixlow and then the ground repeatedly, it took far too long for the message to sink in but soon enough he was leaping onto the dance floor beside him and pulling him into a tight hug.

"You came!" Bixlow shouted right in his ear. "You sounded like, _so_ , angry on the phone."

"Talk later, leave now." Freed shouted back, shifting so one of Bixlow's arms stayed over his shoulders while his own wrapped around Bixlow's waist. The position was in part to support Bixlow as he stumbled about and mostly to stop him from disappearing into the sea of people.

Freed made it a good way before when suddenly Laxus was there, supporting Bixlow's other side and sending him a lazy grin. Freed must've looked puzzled because Laxus just gestured towards the door which he took to mean 'I'll explain when I don't have to shout over the screaming denizens of hell'.

"Thanks for that," Freed said once they got outside. "Did you not find your friend?"

"Nah I did, just turns out he's a dumbass and asked two friends to give him a lift," Laxus sighed.

It took Freed a couple moments but he suddenly twigged. "You're here for Bixlow too?"

"Sadly."

"I'm going to kill him," Freed muttered, running his free hand through his hair and glaring at Bixlow.

"No you're not," Bixlow sang, "you're too much of a softy. Both of you are, you're both so soft even though you look so hard." Bixlow paused for a moment before bursting out laughing, tongue lolling to the side with his extra wide grin.

"So who's going to take him from here?" Laxus asked.

"I want to go with Fraxus," Bixlow piped up from in between them. Freed and Laxus looked at each other over his head, both looking as confused as the other. "Freed and Laxus, Fraxus, my two amigos. Three…French dudes with pointy things that Freed really likes."

"Musketeers?" Freed asked.

"Those!" Bixlow exclaimed, nearly twisting himself out of Laxus' grip as he turned ecstatically to face Freed. "You are so smart bro."

Freed rolled his eyes, although he was slowly being reminded that as annoying as he was, drunk Bixlow was also pretty endearing.

"You're going to have to pick someone," Laxus sighed.

"No," Bixlow whined. He poked his tongue out at Laxus. "Why are you always so boring, Freed is supposed to be the smart boring one. You have to be fun to balance him out like…magnets? Do magnets balance each other?"

Freed and Laxus ignored Bixlow's rambling and looked at each other over his head again.

"He'll probably end up crashing on my couch?" Freed said. "He likes my spare blankets."

"That's reason enough for me to drive him home, you've got to put up with him tonight and tomorrow morning."

"Nah it's not a biggie," Freed said, readjusting Bixlow as his starting sliding down.

"I feel like a dick leaving you with him," Laxus said, he rubbed his free hand through his hair, staring at Freed the whole time like he had the answers. The prolonged eye contact did strange things to Freed's heartbeat that he really didn't want to think about right now. Bigger things to deal with.

"How's this, follow me back to the apartments, you help me get him to bed and tomorrow morning you have to come over with coffee and some of those homemade cookies I know for a fact your grandfather sent you?" Freed suggested.

"It's a deal," Laxus said, "lead the way to your car."

Bixlow wanted to stop about five times on the brief trip to the car to chat with mates, climb a tree and catcall a girl ('Nope, no," Freed has said slapping a hand over his mouth, "you're better than that.") Once they finally arrived, Laxus let out a slow wolf whistle at Freed's car.

"Sweet ride dude."

Freed was pretty proud of his car, it was his life savings, a loan from his parents, a complete disregard for how much money he owed thanks to his student loan and it was a whole lot of time and energy to keep it looking and running so well.

"Freed's car is the best," Bixlow started, "we've gone _everywhere_ in it. The places this car has seen, the _adventures_. It's the best car in the world."

"Sounds like it has story as epic as it looks, my favourite kind of car."

"Can we discuss this when I'm not holding up a lump of muscle and alcohol masquerading as my best friend?" Freed groaned. "Because I think I'm going to dislocate my shoulder."

"Oh shit sorry," Laxus said, taking most of Bixlow's weight leaving Freed free to find his keys.

It was easier than anyone expected to get Bixlow into the back seat of Freed's car. He was very complacent once he learned they were all heading to Freed's, he dubbed it 'the Fraxus and Bixlow sleepover of the century' and started listing what movies he wanted to watch. Freed was pleased to hear a few of his favourites listed in there, not that they'd be watching them but it was nice. Laxus offered again to be the one to take him but Freed insisted. So they waved each other off with Freed leading the drive home.

Back at Freed's apartment Laxus was trying to get Bixlow to settle down on the couch while Freed hunted out Bixlow's favourite blankets.

"Oh shit," Bixlow laughed suddenly from the couch, "I forgot to submit my essay."

Freed caught Laxus' eye from across the room and burst out laughing. It was such a surreal, although oddly coherent, sentence in the midst of drunken rambles and it seemed like everyone was now exhausted and there was just, nothing to do but laugh.

"Send your lecturer an e-mail in the morning Bix," Freed laughed, tossing blankets over him and tucking them into the edge of the couch.

"He's a good guy," Bixlow murmured into the blanket as he nestled himself deeper into the cushions. Within seconds he was snoring softly.

Laxus gestured towards the door and Freed tip-toed over to him. Even drunk, Bixlow was a notoriously light sleeper.

"I'd best get out of your hair," Laxus whispered.

"Don't forget the cookies tomorrow," Freed teased.

"Hey um," Laxus whispered and Freed could honestly say he'd never seen him look so nervous, he started to wonder if he'd crossed a line somehow. "This may seem kind of dumb but, since we're neighbours, you look after Thor for me, turns out we're both bros with Bixlow, I was just thinking we should hang out more. I'm not great at the whole friends gig so, I just thought I'd let you know I'm trying to be friends with you."

"I'd like that," Freed smiled, "start with coffee tomorrow?"

"Sweet." Laxus faux saluted him and then he was off down the hall.

Freed closed the door slowly, pulled his hair out of its ponytail and made his way to bed where he collapsed down and stared at his ceiling with a smile playing at his lips. He pushed his hair back then let his hand drop to his side before lifting it over his heart. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that Bixlow called him after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Wheels are Set in Motion

"Morning sleepy head," Freed grinned over his cup of coffee as Bixlow startled up from the couch. "Speaking of which how is your head? Did we wake you? I'm _so_ sorry."

Laxus sniggered, ever since he'd come in that morning with Freed's large mocha and a box of secret recipe cookies, he'd been blessed by the show that was Freed messing with Bixlow. For a start, the first thing he noticed when he came in was the evil villain goatee and moustache drawn on his face in what looked suspiciously like gold sharpie. When Laxus asked him how the hell he even drew that without waking him, Freed just tapped his nose and cryptically told him 'I have my ways'.

Bixlow stumbled past them with a groan and made his way to the bathroom. Freed chuckled to himself as he watched him close the door very slowly and carefully. He paused for a while, when there was no more noise from the bathroom he turned his full attention back to Laxus.

"I almost feel bad for not asking you to get him coffee," Freed said, "he looks like he needs the nectar of the gods."

"Don't waste this coffee on him. He'll be perfectly happy with instant."

"To be honest, I would have been happy with instant too. But, nothing beats free coffee, delivered to your door by a new friend." Freed grinned. After all, it had been a welcome wake-up call. Quite literally since Laxus had made it all the way to the café before calling him to ask what he usually ordered.

"Unless of course, you made that new friend in a bar fight. Then they show up the next morning with coffee demanding a rematch while yelling 'I'm all fired up' until you sucker punch them and leave them passed out in your hallway." Laxus said.

"That sounded oddly specific."

"Happened when I was in a university hall, good times."

"I skipped the whole hall thing, went straight to this apartment."

"I'm kind of offended knowing you were here first. Where were my 'welcome neighbour' brownies and balloons?"

"Do I look like a middle-aged woman to you?"

Before Laxus had a chance to answer that question, Bixlow stumbled out of the bathroom and past the pair of them, making a beeline for the kettle. He rummaged in the cupboard until he pulled out the largest mug Freed had, honestly that was less a mug and more a bowl with a handle. Freed and Laxus sniggered as they watched him struggle with a lack of coordination while also trying to make as little noise as possible. It may be a bitch to pick up drunk Bixlow but, they could both agree watching hung-over Bixlow made up for it.

"OK," he said, resting his hands on the kitchen bench, "OK let me just, gather my thoughts because, fuck, I don't even know where I was going with that. Gimme a sec."

Freed and Laxus waited patiently, twin looks of amusement on their faces. Bixlow poured his coffee, took a deep sniff of it and let loose an ungodly moan before placing it to the side and placing his hands back on the bench. Laxus and Freed both leant their faces in their hands and waited patiently.

"You two looking like disappointed parents is not helping. Or maybe it is, I do work good under pressure." He took another deep breath and another sip of his coffee. "Oh yeah that shit is good. Anyway, Laxus, dude, I've known you for like, nearly a year and you didn't think to tell me you lived right above my intelligent, beautiful, charismatic and talented childhood best bro? Rude of you. And Freed, how could you not tell me you met the wondrous, marvellous and courageous Laxus? You should've immediately told me you thought you met the Greek God of the sky and I would have known exactly who you were talking about because there is only one man that…" Bixlow paused drink more coffee holding one hand in the air while he did so, "could possibly fit that description because Laxus is one of a kind."

"Are you hitting on us?" Laxus asked.

"Alas, as you both know, tragically I am heterosexual." Bixlow grinned, "but you know, if I were to pick a dude…it'd probably be Makarov."

"Ignoring that traumatic mental image. How would Laxus have told you I live below him when he didn't even know about my existence until I burst into his house asking to pet his dog?" Freed asked. "Also, you missed out the fact that I am a great cook."

"Freed, you have improved a lot, but so long as the memory of that garlic salt salad remains in my memory, I will never call you a good cook." Bixlow stated solemnly.

"I thought I told you, we never speak of the garlic salt catastrophe again."

"We didn't pinky promise, it means nothing." Bixlow winked. "Now, my point to this monologue is that, I have a dream. I quite literally had a dream about this so, my subconscious agrees with me that it's brilliant. The three of us, the three men with pointy things that go stabbity stab…"

"Please just say Musketeers," Freed groaned.

"Never." Bixlow patted Freed's shoulder comfortingly but his grin sort of ruined the effect. "I want a road trip with you two, in Freed's car like old times, all over the show. I want to see the world's largest ball of yarn, and eat waffles at 3am, to eat gas station candy and sing along to Queen until my voice gives out. Are you two in?"

"That's actually, not a bad idea." Laxus said.

"It'll be the bonding experience of a lifetime," Bixlow said.

"I do disagree with one thing," Laxus paused for dramatic effect until Bixlow's face just began to fall. "We should take my car, not Freed's."

"What's wrong with my car?" Freed looked aghast. "You were all over it last night."

"Nothing's wrong with your car, and that's the problem. I have a van, a cliché road trip movie van. We can chuck a mattress in the back and there's accommodation sorted. It'd be way easier, and we don't have to worry about keeping it nice and tidy."

Freed couldn't deny, he did like the sound of that. It was more practical and, he was definitely a fan of the van full of blankets open to the air at sunset aesthetic.

"Oh yeah, I like where this is going, Freed has his planning face on," Bixlow grinned and started to do a victory dance before he abruptly stopped and rested his head against the cold kitchen counter.

"Laxus was right, it's not a bad idea. You're right, it's a fun experience and, if we can sort the details then it'd be a lot of fun." Freed was nodding to himself and even Laxus could see the gears turning in his head.

When Freed looked up at him, Laxus was stunned for a moment by sheer excitement in his face. He'd thought the man had been happy when he got to pet Thor, or when he was joking about Bixlow but, this was a whole other thing. It startled him because this joy was only coming from the fragments of a road trip plan, he'd made hundreds of fragmented plans none of them happened before. But for this one, to keep that smile on his friend's face, Laxus found the resolve to be sure that this would happen and it was going to be epic.

"First things first," Laxus stated, grinning as Freed pulled a pen and paper over and carefully wrote out 'The First Adventure'. "What are we going to do with Thor?"


	4. Chapter 4: Lost and Found

**A/N Sorry this took so long to update, the plot derailed for me just as much as it derailed for the guys. But, I think I know where it's going now and hopefully it's still good!**

"So, do you prefer regular gummy bears or sour gummy bears?" Freed asked, pointing his can of Red Bull at Laxus like it was one of his fencing swords.

"Neither. I am all about those sherbet fizzes." Laxus said as he finished filling a bag with them and tossed it into their trolley. Freed stared down at the mess of budget lemonade ('it's so much better than full price stuff' according to Bixlow), three different bags of pick n mix because none of them would share their candy with one another, more chips than any three people should physically be capable of eating in a mere week, a good stock of iced tea for Freed and an even more impressive amount of red bull for Laxus.

"Should we be buying so much liquid? There's not exactly a hundred and one bathroom stops on the highway?" Freed asked.

"The world is my toilet bro," Bixlow said as he looked for something on his phone. "Also, bladder of steel. I can go a whole keg party without breaking the seal, I don't need toilet breaks."

"That was nearly poetic," Laxus said. "Anyway, Freed just let it be, go with the flow. Got to stay hydrated on the drive."

"Well then we should be getting water not…"

"Hush my sweet spring prince." Bixlow pressed his finger against Freed's lips and gave him that patronising 'you're over planning and I'm smarter than you' look he'd mastered years ago. "If we need to piss, we're big boys we can pull over. Calm down, and go buy a pineapple or something so you don't feel guilty about all the junk."

Freed huffed but, Bixlow had read him too well. He was trying to just sit back and chill but, over-thinking every little detail was something he was much more comfortable with. If he didn't do the planning who would? Bixlow was more than happy to just see where the road took them and Laxus wasn't much better. Also he really loved pineapples.

So Freed tried to let go, go with the flow as he watched the delicious mess of sugar go through the checkout along with one pineapple, he watched the cashier be charmed by Bixlow and wished he had that ease with people.

* * *

Bixlow called shotgun so he was in charge of navigation and music, he had Nicki Minaj blaring the second the ignition started and Google maps on his phone pulled up already to direct Laxus out onto the highway.

Freed chatted easily with them, the tenseness he felt in the supermarket long gone and he was kicking himself for getting so worked up about junk food and energy drinks. He had gotten all worked up over nothing but he was glad to see they didn't hold a grudge. Although he was definitely going to be teased by Bixlow after an allotted buffer period passed.

On the open road the only concern in Freed's head was that the back seat wasn't nearly so fun to lean out of and enjoy the wind in his hair. He loved how easily the three of them fit together, it was hard to imagine that he'd only known Laxus for a couple months. Perhaps that was more Bixlow's influence than anything else, he wove people into conversations so easily, making sure that neither Freed nor Laxus ever felt like a third wheel and constantly pushing the conversation forward whenever it lulled. There was a reason he was the life of the party and it wasn't just his legendary beer pong scores.

It was the peaceful, easy feeling that the guy was singing about through Bixlow's 'epic road trip playlist'. All was going great. Hours of driving passed by and it felt like no time at all had gone. They stopped by the side of the road to dive into the river and laze in the sun for a bit. Laxus had thrown him into one of the pools, diving in after him and initiating an epic splash battle. They sang along to classic and new songs and even though they were all terrible it was perfect. The budget lemonade disappeared in no time and, true to his word, Bixlow didn't ask for a piss stop once. Freed didn't want to be impressed but, it would be a lie to say he wasn't.

"I don't want to be that person but, are we there yet?" Freed asked, leaning forward and resting his chin on the back of Bixlow's seat.

"Who knows man," Bixlow said.

"I should hope you do Mr Navigator Extraordinaire."

"Wait…I was in charge of navigation?" Bixlow asked. "I thought I was just the music guy?"

"Front seat gets navigation and music dude," Laxus shrugged. "I thought that was universal road trip rules."

"I thought we divvied it up, me on the sick beats, Laxus on the sick turns and Freed on the sick knowledge."

"Then why Bixlow, have I said nothing about directions this entire trip?"

"Nah dude, you got us out of the city. Once we were on the open road I thought you were just finally, going with the flow and letting it happen."

Freed collapsed back in his seat rubbing at his face with his hands and trying not to kick the seat in front of him like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Although, if he did a little then at least it was definitely warranted.

"So, does anyone know where we are right now?" Freed's voice was muffled by his hands but he hoped one of them got the gist. He heard Bixlow pick up his phone and then make that awkward throat noise he did when he was guilty of something. "I take that as a no and I'm assuming there's bad news."

"I don't have phone service and GPS won't pick up my location."

"If we by some miracle don't die in the middle of fucking nowhere, I will kill you myself."

"Want to know the icing on the cake?" Laxus asked.

"No but tell me."

"We're almost out of gas."

There was a long silence as that sunk in, broken finally by Bixlow's hysterical laughter. He apologised between snorts and gasps for breath and after a while even Laxus was sniggering. It was only Freed who was quiet, thinking over ways to rectify this situation at a thousand miles a minute. Scrapping ideas as quickly as they came to mind and trying to map out new options. He opened his mouth to voice his suggestion but, Bixlow beat him to it.

"Oh well, guess we'll just stop when we see lights and ask them where the hell we are. No use panicking if it turns out a town is 20 minutes away and it's not like we can Google anything."

"And if they're not friendly?" Freed asked.

"They live in the country, of course they're friendly."

"It's all we can do." Laxus shrugged.

That wasn't exactly true but a sense of anxiety settled in Freed's stomach. His plan wasn't much better after all and he didn't want to bring them all down. So he settled back and stared out the window at the silhouette of a mountain range against the last light of the sun and hummed along with the latest track on the radio. It would work out, he told himself again and again, it had to. The mountains disappeared as they wove up a hill bracketed by towering pine trees and when they emerged they could see a red tin roof in the distance. Bixlow let out a woop and punched the roof of the car.

"Everything's coming up Milhouse!" He cheered happily, turning back to grin at Freed with his tongue poking out in that weird way of his. Freed rolled his eyes and turned back to the window, staring at the growing red shed. The light in it switched off and he saw a figure wander round it and up past the back. A driveway was just past the shed and they pulled up just as the man walking past his garage.

Standing well over six foot, pushing a wheelbarrow of firewood and dusting off his hands on his pants he looked like he'd walked right out of a kids' book about farming. He was wearing a plaid red shirt, blue overalls, gumboots up to his knees and one of those big wide brim leather hats. All he was missing was the bit of hay between his teeth to be the proper stereotype. When he smiled at them as they piled out the car and his eyes crinkled at the edges Bixlow's 'everyone's friendly in the country' statement came to mind.

"Good evening sir," Freed said. "We don't mean to be a bother but we seem to have gone off course."

"Y'all are lost I assume?" The farmer asked with a grin. "We get all sorts of folk out this way looking for a short cut or scenic route. It's a shame for them since it's just a dead end. Road goes about 15kms on and then just stops. You get to the back end of a forest park and that car doesn't look like you're ready to go off road. If you go back down the way you came for about half an hour you'll see a turn on the left, that road will take you back to the highway. Or if you keep going down it you'll get to a sea side town, pretty quaint. 'Bout an hour away."

"Thank you so much, but um we just have one more little problem." Freed said. "We're out of gas."

"Oh that's not a problem at all." The woman who spoke had just wandered out from the house, her grey hair was tied up in a bun and she walked lightly across the paved pathway. She wasn't that short but she looked tiny next to her husband. "We've got a fuel tank for the bikes, we can give you enough to get into town if you've got some cash."

Freed looked to Laxus and Bixlow who were both looking to him. There was some silent communication though gestures and facial expressions and by the end of it the conclusion was obvious, none of them had cash.

"Don't suppose you've got an eftpos machine handy?" Bixlow asked and Laxus elbowed him in the ribs.

"What he means to say is, we don't have any cash with us but we could do a bank transfer if you've got internet?" Laxus stated politely. Freed tried not to laugh at the sight, it wasn't that Laxus was an uncouth loud mouth bar dweller but, he was hardly the poster boy for perfect manners.

The woman laughed and it was a sweet sound, no bite to it at all. "I know we're far out of the way but we do have the internet sonny. Come on in, I'll show you where the computer is. I'm Margaret but you can call me Marge and this here is my husband Jimmy."

They followed her round the edge of the house, Laxus taking the wheelbarrow for Jimmy as he asked them about their plans. Freed and Bixlow went inside with Marge while Laxus stayed and helped him throw the firewood into the wood-box. Jimmy told him about the sights out this end of the road and Laxus wondered if they'd let them park up and stay the night, they could explore the natural hot pools he was talking about and maybe do some of the hikes if the guys were keen. He thought it could be good for Freed, no disasters for a few hours, some time to just chill and get their bearings back. But he couldn't really tell what made Freed happy, he'd promised himself that it would be epic and so far he wasn't sure how well that was going.

"Jimmy, how much do you think it'd cost?" Marge asked when Jimmy and Laxus walked inside. Laxus noticed how cosy their house was, the walls covered in family photos and paintings. They'd walked into the dining room and he could see into the lounge straight ahead, a large fireplace taking up a good chunk of the space. To the left Marge was standing behind Freed who was sat at a computer tapping his fingers while he waited for a page to load. Bixlow was sitting at the table staring at a seaside painting on the wall between the dining room and the kitchen.

"Well, either 30 dollars or a couple days helping me with the cattle." Jimmy shrugged, walking past them all into the kitchen and flicking the kettle on.

"Huh?" Laxus asked.

"I'm not as young and fit as I used to be and while I try to keep it easy, have the cows nearby the yards and all, I was thinking about it and it'd be nice to have an extra pair of hands. They could stay in the quarters. The vets coming up tomorrow, they'd only have to stay two nights. Free accommodation of course, we'd even throw in some meals if you need food."

"We can't ask them to do that," Marge scolded him. "Please don't feel like you have to, we can handle it fine on our own."

"No it's not a problem, I'd be happy to stay if the guys are." Bixlow looked excited by the idea, his green eyes flashing and his whole face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

Freed on the other hand looked more nervous, biting at his lip he swivelled the chair round to face everyone. "What would we be doing exactly?"

"Just helping me move the cows from the paddock into the yards then, if you want to you can just help keep them moving through, the vet will do all the real technical stuff. Marge is right though, I can handle it myself it's just you were saying you didn't really have a plan and there's plenty to explore up here, you'd have the afternoon tomorrow and the whole of the next day free. You can leave once the vet's done the day after."

"Well, I'm keen. What do you think Freed?" Laxus sat down in the seat on the end of the table by Bixlow which made Freed feel oddly ganged up on. Them telling him to go with the flow, to chill out was still ringing in his head and that probably was what spurred him to give a nod of assent and close the internet banking page that had finally loaded.

"Right then," Jimmy said, "do you want tea or coffee?"

* * *

A couple hours, a long chat with Marge and Jimmy and a full roast dinner later they found themselves in what Marge called the shearers' quarters. She told them all about how she rented it out to fisherman mostly but sometimes a few backpackers came up. None of them were sure what to expect when they were told they'd be staying there but it was just, a second house a paddock away from the main one. She apologised again and again about the lack of hot water, no matter how many times they told her it was fine, but she promised it'd be good to go by the next morning. She even made their beds for them despite Freed's protests that it'd be fine, she was doing more than enough. After reminding them to be up at 6am and that a full cooked breakfast would be waiting for them, she cheerfully wandered back to the house.

"This is a horror movie plot," Freed said, putting what food they did have away in the fridge.

"Or a great adventure," Bixlow shrugged, coming back into the kitchen after throwing the last of their bags on the floor in their room. He had changed into his pyjamas. "Anyway how would you know, you don't watch horror movies you're too squeamish."

"Touché." Freed acknowledged. Smiling as Laxus passed him "But, if I get murdered by a cow tomorrow you're the one who'll have to live with the nightmares."

"You'll be fine, animals love you." Laxus said. "And just think, you'll get to pat the dogs. Did you hear Marge say they have five dogs? Try not to get fleas, I'm not dealing with you itching the whole way back to civilization."

"I know and I am going to hug them all." Freed ignored the flea comment, he also tried to hide how excited he was but he knew it wasn't working when he heard Bixlow snigger. "So I've got to hit the hay so that I'll have all the energy in the world to give them the attention they deserve."

"Hit the hay? You're talking like a country local already." Laxus teased. Freed stuck out his tongue and wandered down to the room he and Bixlow were sharing.

After changing he collapsed into bed and tried to quiet that part of his mind telling him every way it could go wrong and focus instead on how lucky they were, how kind Jimmy and Marge were and how much fun he was having before he started over-thinking.

Bixlow came in and flopped back on the bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "See, I told you they'd be friendly."

Freed threw a pillow at him. Bixlow's laughter echoed around the quiet room followed by a call of goodnight, sweet dreams, don't let the tiki dolls bite. Just before Freed fell asleep, he found himself not thinking about any of the bad stuff, and instead thinking about how nice Laxus had looked relaxed in front of the fire, how excited Bixlow was to work with cows and how this was honestly shaping up to be a pretty great story to tell.


	5. Chapter 5: Obligatory Hot Spring Episode

Freed wasn't sure he was ever going to be clean again. Thank the lord the hot water was working now because he needed to scrub himself for the next half hour. He was sweaty from working in the hot sun for the past few hours, the dust from the yards felt like it was clogging every single one of his pores, he had slipped in literal cow shit at the start of the day after getting two steps away from the motorbike and he just really wanted to be clean. But if he was going to get into his sweet, gentle, loving shower he would first have to defeat Laxus and Bixlow in a ruthless game of rock, paper, scissors.

"He always picks paper," Bixlow said, resting his chin on his hands while he waited to duke it out with the victor. "Just a head's up."

"I don't know which one of us you're talking to," Freed sighed. It felt like he should get first dibs anyway just because he wanted the shower so much more than they did. Bixlow seemed content to sit on the front deck lounging in the sun and eating apples he'd picked from Jimmy and Marge's orchard. Laxus wasn't exactly leaping into the shower either, he'd mentioned going over to the main house and chatting with Jimmy about fencing and shearing and other 'manly' farming stuff. But nope, in the respect of fairness rock, paper, scissors must be played.

First turn Laxus and Freed both had scissors, second time around Freed won with scissors while Laxus has moved to paper.

"He was talking about me." Laxus shrugged, moving off to collapse back onto the deck by Bixlow with a loud thud. Freed tried not to wince. Laxus had a habit of throwing himself around and apparently he was so solid nothing hurt. He couldn't say the same thing for the deck though, a few more falls like that and Freed was sure Laxus was going to go right through it.

Just as Freed crouched down to verse Bixlow in a round, Marge wandered through the belt of trees that blocked the main house from view. She gave a hearty hello in greeting with a wide smile as she cradled a pile of towels in her arms. Freed couldn't get over how sweet and kind she was.

"I realised I forgot to give you these when I made the bed last night," she said. "Also, Jimmy told me to remind you all about the hot springs, said if there was ever a day to go it'd be today. Perfect weather for it and, nothing's so good for sore muscles as soaking in a hot bath. If you want to go just drive round to the shed, I'll meet you there and we can get your car filled up. Or you can take our ute if you'd like, the road is a bit rough and your city cars don't always cope so well with gravel."

Freed took the towels from her as Bixlow started barraging her with questions, how far away was it exactly, how hot were they, why were they warm, how many other people would be there, what kind of ute did they have, could he please oh pretty please pick a few more apples.

The verdict was made pretty quickly, they would go in Jimmy and Marge's ute and they were allowed to take all the apples they wanted. Freed was granted shower rights since Laxus and Bixlow decided they'd just wait until the hot pools, when he said that wasn't fair to the other people there Marge had jumped in telling them it was mostly just used by hunters who had been in the woods for a few days so not to worry. Freed wasn't sure how he felt about that. It didn't matter so much though, there was simply no way he was sitting for half an hour with his pores slowly closing over the grime.

When Freed wandered out of the shower ten minutes later he felt like a new man, a better man. He pulled on an over-sized sleep shirt and a pair of shorts that he didn't mind swimming in, not at all worried about who would see him out in the wilderness. It was a nice feeling. Bixlow had wandered back with Marge to pick more apples and learn the tricks of the ute from Jimmy but Laxus had stayed behind to wait for Freed to be done with his shower. When he came in he could've sworn he saw the tips of Laxus' ears go pink but, he wasn't about to call him out on it.

"Good to go?" Freed asked, flinging his towel over his shoulder and slipping on his flip-flops.

Laxus nodded and lead the way out, holding the door open for Freed as he ducked through.

"You were really good with the cows," Freed said as they walked.

"They're not that difficult." Laxus shrugged. "You weren't so bad yourself. You were terrible with the dogs though."

Freed couldn't even bring himself to be offended, it was true. He was great at cuddling them, working them not so much. "I was so frightened in the yards, I thought Jimmy was going to ask me to leave for everyone's safety."

"Wouldn't have blamed him, you were getting the cows pretty agitated flinching anytime they so much as looked at you."

"I was worried they were going to trample me!"

"Thought you were worried about them mistaking your hair for dinner."

"Rude," Freed scoffed, but any bite in it was ruined by his laughter.

"Are you, looking forward to the hot pools?" Laxus asked. Freed was surprised that he tried to keep the conversation going, in the past when there had been a pause he'd just stay silent until Freed filled in the gaps. It was nice both ways but, Freed couldn't stop the smile creeping onto his face at this.

"I am, don't let me forget to ask Jimmy what's warming them! I also can't imagine what they'll look like. It nearly sounds fake, hot springs out in the bush. I don't really know what to expect but I'm excited for that. It's an adventure."

"Good to hear, I'm…"  
"Dudes! Jimmy said he'd teach me how to ride the motorbike, isn't that sick?" Bixlow yelled, leaning over the gate and waving at them frantically even though they were only a couple metres away.

"Does he want it turned into scrap metal?" Laxus grinned, shoving Bixlow off the gate so he could get it open.

"You take that back. I'm sure I'll be a natural." Bixlow struck a pose, flexing his arms and squatting down in a strange version of the warrior pose in yoga. Freed had actually taken him to a yoga class once, Bixlow was politely asked to refrain from returning; yoga instructors don't find it that funny when you make loud fake meditation noises throughout the session. Seemed like he picked something up though.

Bixlow dashed ahead of them and leapt into the front seat, Laxus called shot gun and jogged behind him and Freed slid quietly into the backseat behind Bixlow. The ute didn't have the same leg room as Laxus' car and Freed stretched out across the back, arms crossed behind his head against the window. He pulled his sunglasses down and relaxed into the seat as Bixlow reversed out the drive. They didn't have their tunes but they filled in the silence easy enough. The whole way the car was full of either Bixlow's and Freed's duets, a thrilling game of 'would you rather' based on farm activities, Laxus' running tour guide commentary on what they passed 'and on your left you'll see cows, and on your right, trees, in between, the wild outdoors'.

Thankfully the drive was as straight forward as Marge had told them it would be, after the directions debacle the day before they were all glad of seeing the sign about hot pools only being fifteen minutes further away. Especially since it wasn't their car, it would not be a good look to accidentally live out some Grand Theft Auto.

From his vantage point Freed could see Laxus getting paler and paler as the drive went on, despite his easy jokes and continued conversation. When Freed and Bixlow ganged up on him about it, he admitted he suffered from motion sickness and that when he was driving the car it was fine but, as a passenger it didn't matter how straight and smooth the road was, unless he was in the front seat he was a puking mess. Freed winced, while the way to the hot pools was simple the road itself was not, it was a winding, gravel, back country bush road. He rarely felt carsick but even he was feeling a little sympathy nausea. Bixlow offered to stop and let him walk around but Laxus refused, stoic and in control as ever. When they stopped and he went off into the bush alone for a bit they wisely did not comment.

Freed perched himself on one of the picnic tables, resting his feet on the bench in front of him and taking in the sights and sounds. It really was the middle of the bush, Jimmy hadn't exaggerated. A picnic area, camping ground and parking lot had been cleared in the trees but otherwise they were surrounded by the forest. Although there was all the infrastructure there like picnic tables and those outdoor barbeques parks always seem to have, it didn't seem to be a particularly popular spot. They were the only car parked there and Freed thought it was pretty cool to have the whole place to themselves.

The river was close enough that he could hear it roaring somewhere below them and it made a lovely background noise to the birdsong in the forest. Freed wished he knew more about birds so he could say what it was he was listening to but,

were greens and greys and the white of many flowering shrub trees,

As they walked down towards the path Bixlow paused to leap over a safety rail and peer down into a cavern to see what the safety rail was put up for. Freed tried not to sigh too loudly but, really? Laxus unfortunately followed so Freed jumped over too to see what all the fuss was about. Bixlow was gasping loudly at the sight of a large tunnel carved by water through the hillside.

"Can we go down there?" Bixlow was already heading off but Freed grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"I am not going in there. It's so long and dark." Freed commented.

"Like my dick." Bixlow said, his and Laxus' high five was loud enough that it echoed down the tunnel.

"Way better, I was just going to say like the night." Laxus said.

"That's his nickname." Bixlow grinned.

"You disgust me." Freed said at the exact moment Laxus said 'he hasn't seen a battlefield in a while'. Freed rolled his eyes and wandered back to the path, if they wanted to go spelunking they could go ahead but he had a hot tub calling out to his aching muscles. Thankfully it was an easy hike downhill to the tubs, which were a bizarre sight to behold. In amongst the forest were two blue bath tubs built into wooden platforms a step down between each other. A small creek ran alongside, steam rising from its surface and curling around the low hanging branches above it. It was a bizarre sight but it was also, a paradise. The river was closer now, Freed was able to catch glimpses of it between the trees and while the path clearly took them to a bridge across to the hot tubs, there was a smaller less worn track moving straight down the hill. While he hadn't wanted to explore the tunnel, this was definitely a track he wanted to take.

"Yo! Where does that go?" Bixlow's footsteps thudded up behind him and Freed, luckily, braced himself before Bixlow used his shoulders as a prop to propel himself upwards like they were still kids.

"The river, I'm guessing." Freed grinned, he was more than used to Bixlow's antics and even though there was the possibility he could've face planted down the path he wasn't bothered by his boisterous friend. "Where'd your tunnel go?"

"We couldn't explore it," Laxus said. "Turns out the hot springs are fed by the creek that runs through that tunnel. Didn't really feel like wading through boiling water in bare feet today."

"But! Just because that adventure was a failure doesn't mean this one will be, onwards mighty Freed!"

Bixlow was clearly enjoying himself and it was so easy to get swept up in his loud and excited and over-the-top personality. It was fun bashing their way through the bush, Laxus might have thought otherwise being at the back with Bixlow forgetting to keep holding a branch out of the way for him too. He took getting whacked in the face by trees remarkably well.

The path did in fact lead to the river, a nice calm stretch between two rapids with deep pools that were so clear Freed could see the trout resting on the rocks at the bottom. Freed wasted no time diving in, it was chilly but in the warmth of the afternoon sun the chill was more than welcome. Laxus dove in after him while Bixlow ran along the river bed to where a fallen tree was hanging over the river.

"Freed, check the depth for me man I want to walk the plank." Bixlow called, peering over the side of the log. Freed dutifully swam up to him and made sure it was all clear, once he gave him a thumbs up, Bixlow backed up and took off running down the length of the tree and canon bombed in beside Freed who shrieked as the splash rained down on him.

"Bixlow!" Freed yelled, his arm slicing through the water to splash the other man as he came up for air.

"What? It's not like you weren't already wet." Bixlow laughed as he splashed him right back.

"Doesn't mean I wanted you to, nearly kill me!"

"I have good aim, you were fine."

Their argument went on with each point was punctuated by another splash until there was a loud shout and Laxus landed in the water between them showering them both.

"Now that," Laxus grinned, "was a proper cannon ball."

"That sounds like a challenge." Bixlow said.

"I'm game if you are, whoever can make the biggest splash wins." Laxus said, already swimming back to the bank.

"You're on!"

"I can't believe this is happening," Freed sighed.

"If you're not competing you're judging," Laxus said, now standing atop the log above him. "And you might want to move back to get a better view."

Freed rolled his eyes but was grateful for the chance to swim back from the danger zone, he swam until he reached a point where his feet could touch the bottom and then called out the OK for the competition to begin. From there on, it was chaos.

Laxus being like this, free and un-self-conscious was a beautiful sight, even though Freed was getting worried about him accidentally drowning Bixlow but he didn't think that was too likely. Laxus often got so rigid and stoic, behaviour taught to him by his wealthy family who wanted the perfect poster boy for their law firm. He was uncomfortable when the attention was on him, especially with strangers, and yet out here in the middle of nowhere he was letting all of that go and it was a beautiful sight. Freed recognised that the shift was temporary and that only made it more precious, each memory something to treasure and hold. It brought a familiar warmth to his chest, one that was all too familiar and all too unwanted.

"I'm going to head up to the hot pools," Freed yelled at them.

"Who won?" Bixlow yelled back.

"Laxus!"

"Ha!" Laxus pushed Bixlow off the log and before jumping in after him, the two wrestled as they floated back downstream to where the path up to the pools began and then waded out with Freed.

The hot pools were everything Freed had dreamed of and he actually moaned as he sank into them. The water was warm, they were nicely shaded and everyone was quiet as they relaxed. There were no time limits, no deadlines, nothing but the peace of the forest and the warmth of the pools and Freed honestly questioned if they'd died on the road on the way and this was heaven.

Unfortunately with the summer heat in the day the pools were less blissful and more stifling after a while. Freed perched himself on the edge of the hot tub, leaning back on his arms, dangling one leg in the water and keeping the other folded against his chest. He stared up at the trees overhead and caught glimpses of birds flitting through the trees, saw the sky overhead and the wind was a gentle caress on his skin. "This is bliss."

"It would be if I wasn't over-heating." Bixlow groaned. "I don't want to move but I have to. I'm going to dash down the river again, dive in, come back, water will be perfect temperature again. It is science." Bixlow dashed off down the steps and off down the path again.

"Want to follow?" Freed asked. Laxus was the only one still submerged in the hot pool, only his head sticking out resting on the edge, his eyes were closed, arms floating down beside him and he was the picture of relaxation. Freed couldn't imagine him moving anywhere unless he had to and he was proven right when Laxus just shook his head slowly and let out a great sigh.

Watching him like this, Freed felt that warmth again, unrelated to the hot tub, spread through his chest.

It wasn't like Freed hadn't realised Laxus was attractive, he'd freely acknowledged the fact (to himself) since he knocked in his door all those weeks ago. Then since that moment, it had been so easy. Their lives had brushed past each other's so many times without them knowing it and now they were aware of each other, they kept falling together; chatting in the stairwell of their building, meeting up with Bixlow, coffee in either of their flat's (usually Laxus', Freed really loved those Thor cuddles). And now this road trip, now this constant nearness and banter and it was so good.

For whatever reason, Freed didn't feel all that shocked realising he had feelings for Laxus. The warm butterflies in his stomach weren't that shocking. It was like there was a space in his heart reserved for that special someone and seeing Laxus there was like 'oh, of course, welcome'. It was true that developing any kind of, more-than-platonic feelings for Laxus was not part of his plan, he didn't even have a plan because you don't make plans about how you're going to feel about your pals. But this felt, right.

Or at least it felt right for a total of three seconds before Freed felt overwhelmingly betrayed. After all, as easy as becoming friends was, romance was something completely different and he would be a fool not to consider that. The cardinal rule of Freed's love life was simple, he had hoped it would be hard wired into his heart by now after dozens of let downs but here he was again, breaking that one rule; never, ever, fall for a straight boy.

 **I'm so excited for the fluff to begin and I hope that you all are too.**


End file.
